Apparatus for hoisting and positioning ladles

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for hoisting and positioning ladles of molten metal particularly for use in a continuous casting installation. The associated apparatus includes a crane which lifts a ladle of molten metal to the necessary height, transports the ladle horizontally and lowers it to a ladle car, after which the crane hooks are disengaged from the ladle and moved clear. The car then carries the ladle to a position over an intermediate vessel (for example a tundish), from which the metal can be teemed into a continuous-casting mold in the usual fashion. The novel structure is in the use of a vertically movable cage and a horizontally movable trolley mounted on the cage for guiding the ladle into the proper position on the car. Since the cage can move vertically, the ladle can be placed on cars at different heights, thus making it possible to use the same ladle-handling apparatus with receiving vessels of different vertical dimensions.

United States Patent LADLES 11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 266/13, 212/130, 214/657 [51] Int. Cl C21c 7/00 150] Fieldof Search 212/130; 214/313, 657, 658; 266/13; 164/281, 335

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,519,313 8/1950 Haklin214/313 Primary Examiner-Gerald A. Dost Attorney-Walter P. WoodABSTRACT: An apparatus for hoisting and positioning ladies of moltenmetal particularly for use in a oontinuous casting m stallation. Theassociated apparatus includes a crane Inch lifts a ladle of molten metalto the necessary height, transports the ladle horizontally and lowers itto a ladle car, after which the crane hooks are disengaged from theladle and moved clear. The car then carries the ladle to a position overan intermediate vessel (for example a tundish), from which the metal canbe teemed into a continuous-casting mold in the usual fashion. The novelstructure is in the use of a vertically mova ble cage and a horizontallymovable trolley mounted on the cage for guiding the ladle into theproper position on the car. Since the cage can move vertically, theladle can be placed on cars at different heights, thus making itpossible to use the same ladle-handling apparatus with receiving vesselsof different vertical dimensions.

C 145 TING 4/61 E PATENTH) 05121 4157! SHEET 1 UV 1 CAST/1V6 4/52 E--:-

FRANCIS GALLUCC/ JOSEPH E. U850 PATENTED [15mm C 45 TING 4/52 E Fig.2

190/57 BAY JOSEPH E. URSO ATTORNEY.

APPARATUS FOR IHIOISTIING AND POSITIGNHNG lLAlDLES This inventionrelates to an improved apparatus for hoisting and positioning ladlesfrom which molten metal is to be poured.

Although our invention is not thus limited, our apparatus isparticularly useful for handling ladles used to pour steel into anintermediate vessel (for example a tundish) preceding a verticalcontinuous-casting operation. The casting equipment includes a moldwhich is supported within a tower at a considerable height (80 feet ormore) above ground level. Steel is teemed into the mold from anintermediate vessel supported thereabove. The vertical dimension ofdifferent intermediate vessels may vary. The operation necessitateshoisting ladles filled with molten steel to a ladle car, which runs onan elevated track above the mold and vessel. The height at which theladle is placed on the car varies with the vertical dimension of thevessel. After the ladle car receives each ladle, the hoisting equipmentis disengaged from the ladle, and the car transports the ladlehorizontally to a position directly over the intermediate vessel, thusenabling the contents of the ladle to be poured into the vessel andthence teemed into the mold.

An object of our invention is to provide a hoisting and positioningapparatus which is capable of spotting a full ladle accurately andexpeditiously at varying heights over a ladle car.

A further object is to provide a hoisting and positioning apparatuswhich can move a full ladle both horizontally and vertically withrespect to a ladle car for accurate spotting.

A further object is to provide an apparatus which affords the foregoingadvantages, yet allows the hoisting equipment to be disengaged andcleared from the ladle as soon as the ladle is positioned on the ladlecar. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of the layout of acontinuous-casting installation, illustrating the relation of bays andaisles;

FIG. 2 is a partly diagrammatic side elevational view of our apparatus;

FIG. 3 is partly diagrammatic end elevational view from the right ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is side elevational view on a larger scale of a portion of theapparatus;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view on line V-V of FIG. 2 on a scalesimilar to FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view on line VI-VI of FIG. 4. FIG. Ishows a portion of the layout ofa continuous-casting installation. Asthe legends indicate, a hoist aisle extends east and west of the figureand a casting aisle north and south. The east portion of the hoist aisleconstitutes a hoist bay. The north portion of the casting aisleconstitutes a casting bay. The two aisles intersect. The west portion ofthe hoist aisle and the south portion of the casting aisle occupy theintersection. It should be understood that our reference to points ofthe compass is only to facilitate our description and is not limiting.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show portions of the tower of the installation, which maybe conventional apart from our ladle hoist and positioning apparatus.The tower includes pairs of columns 10, I2 and III! of considerableheight, and a plurality of horizontal beams I4 connecting the columns toform a rigid framework. The space defined by the three pairs of columnsshown constitutes the aforementioned hoist aisle of the tower. The upperportion of the tower carries a horizontal track l5 (shown onlydiagrammatically) on which a conventional overhead crane 16 runs formovement along the hoist aisle between a first position over the hoistbay and a second position over the intersection of the two aisles. Aconventional ladle car 17 runs along a track ll8 at the bottom of thehoist aisle and is shown carrying a ladle 19 which has trunnions 20. Aspreader bar 211 is suspended from the crane 16 through a cable andsheave mechanism 22 and carries a pair of hooks 23 which may engagetrunnions for lifting, lowering or transporting ladle l9 (FIGS. 2 and3).

The horizontal beams 14 at opposite sides of the hoist bay carry a pairof vertically extending guide channels 27, the upper and lower ends ofwhich has funnel-shaped extensions 26 (only the upper extensions areshown). Crane 16 carries a pair of vertically extending guide channels29, the lower ends of which have funnel-shaped extensions 30. When crane16 is in its first position over the hoist bay, channels 27 and 29 arealigned, the edges of their extensions 28 and 30 are closely adjacent,and the aligned guide channels may receive the ends of the spreader bar211 for guiding its vertical movement. Preferably the ends of thespreader bar have rollers Ell (FIG. 5) riding within the channels tofacilitate such movement. As the crane raises or lowers the spreaderbar, the funnel-shaped extensions 28 and 30 facilitate transfer of thespreader bar between channels 27 and 29.

One or more open-ended molds 34 are located in the casting bay. Atundish 35 is supported on a car 36 above the molds. These parts per seare not part of the present invention, but may be of conventionalconstruction, and hence are not shown in detail. A ladle car 37 rideswithin the casting aisle on an elevated track 36 below track 15. Theladle car has a cradle 39 for receiving and supporting ladle Ill9. Thecar can carry the ladle horizontally along the casting aisle between afirst position within the intersection of the two aisles and a secondposition within the casting bay over the tundish. Reference can be madeto Britcher et al. US. Pat. No. 3,459,3 l2 for a detailed showing of asuitable ladle car.

Our apparatus comprises a floating cage 42 which we sup port forvertical movement within the intersection of the two aisles. The supportmeans includes four sheaves 43 journaled near the tops of the respectivecolumns 12 and 13, but preferably below track 15, cables 44 attached atone end to the top of the cage and running over the respective sheaves,and vertically movable counterweights 45 attached to the other ends ofthe cables. The counter-weights are sufficiently heavy that theynormally hold the cage in a raised position. However, when we add theweight of the spreader bar 211 to the cage, as hereinafter described,the cage and spreader bar overbalance the counterweights, and the cagedescends. Preferably the cage carries V-rollers 66 and flat-facedrollers 67 at each comer top and bottom (FIG. 6). The V-rollers ride onvertical tracks 48 fixed to the flanges ofcolumns l2 and I3, and theflat-faced rollers ride on the webs of the vertical travel of the cage.The columns also carry upper and lower sets of retractable stops 49 and50, which the cage can engage to limit its upward and downward travel.

We mount a trolley 53 on the cage 42 for horizontal movement relative tothe cage. The upper and lower faces of the cage carry tracks 54 and thetrolley has rollers 55 which ride on these tracks. Stops 56 projectupwardly and downwardly from the cage for limiting travel of the trolleytoward the right, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 4. We attach cables 57 to theright side of the trolley, which cables run over sheaves 58 journaled tothe cage and extend downwardly to counterweights 59. The lattercounterweights are sufficiently heavy that they norm ally hold thetrolley to the right and to the limit permitted by stops 56. The trolleyincludes a pair of vertically extending guide channels 60. Motoroperated jackscrews 611 are journaled in bearings 62 mounted on thesides of these channels and are threadedly engaged with nuts 63 mountedon the cage for moving the trolley to the left against the action of thecounterweights 59.

Channels 6'1] have retractable stops 65 (FIG. 5) at their lower ends andfunnel-shaped extensions 66 at their upper ends (FIG. 4). We insertremovable guide frames 67 in the extensions 66. Frames 67 are open atthe top and right sides. When cage 42 is in its raised position andtrolley 53 in its normal position at the right of the cage, the opensides of the frames 67 are positioned for receiving the extensions 30 ofthe channels 29 on crane 16. After the crane lifts the spreader bar 21and ladle 19 to a position in which the bar is within channels 29, thecrane carries the bar and ladle to the left until the extensions 30 liewithin frames 6'7. Trolley 53 can move to the left against the action ofthe countervveights $9 to absorb any overrun. Thus the spreader barmoves into alignment with channels 60. The crane then lowers the barthrough channels 29 and 60 until rollers 31 on the bar engage the stops65. Thereafter continued lowering of the bar and ladle forces the cage42 downwardly against the action of counterweights 45 until the ladleseats on cradle 39. We adjust the jackscrews 61 as needed to shift theladle horizontally for proper seating on the cradle. Preferably weprovide an emergency ladle 68 under ladle 19 to receive the contents inthe event of trouble (FIG. 1).

After the ladle 19 is seated on cradle 39, cage 42 continues to descenduntil it engages the stops 50, whereby the crane hooks 23 drop below thetrunnions 20. We operate the jackscrews 61 to move the trolley 53 to theleft and thus push the hooks to the left away from the trunnions.Thereafter we operate the crane to raise the spreader bar 21sufficiently that hooks 23 clear the ladle. The ladle car 37 thencarries the ladle to a position over the tundish 35 so that its contentscan be poured into the tundish in the usual fashion. To remove an emptyladle, we perform the foregoing steps in reverse order.

From the foregoing description it is seen that our invention affords asimple reliable apparatus for transferring a ladle filled with moltensteel from ground level to an elevated ladle car for continuous casting.Although we have illustrated the intermediate vessel which receivessteel from the ladle as a tundish, it is apparent an in-line vacuumdegassing vessel could be used. Different intermediate vessels may havedifferent vertical dimensions, which necessitate placing the ladle atdifferent heights on the ladle car. Since the cage is verticallymovable, our apparatus can place the ladle at any desired height on thecar. By duplicating the cage structure in the hoist bay, we can adaptout apparatus for use with ladles or pouring vessels of differentvertical dimensions.

We claim:

1. ln continuous-casting installation, the layout of which includesintersecting hoist and casting aisles, a portion of said hoist aisleconstituting a hoist bay, a portion of said casting aisle constituting acasting bay, said installation including columns defining said aisles,an overhead crane supported at the upper portion of said columns forhorizontal movement along said hoist aisle between a first position oversaid hoist bay and second position over the intersection of said aisles,a spreader bar suspended for vertical movement from said crane,ladle-engaging hooks carried by said bar, and a ladle car supportedwithin said columns below said crane for horizontal movement along saidcasting aisle between a first position within the intersection and asecond position within the casting bay, the combination therewith of aladle-positioning mechanism comprising a cage supported for verticalmovement in the intersection. means connected to said cage normallyholding it in a raised position relative to said columns, a trolleysupported on said cage for horizontal movement relative thereto, guidemeans on said trolley for receiving said bar when said crane is in itssecond position and guiding a ladle engaged by said hooks into aposition supported on said car when the car is in its first position,and stop means limiting upward movement of said cage relative to saidcolumns and downward movement of said bar relative to said guide means.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 comprising in addition guidemeans carried by said columns in said hoist bay adapted to receive saidbar when said crane is in its first position, and guide means carried bysaid crane to be aligned with the guide means carried by said columnswhen said crane is in its first position, and with the guide meanscarried by said trolley when said crane isin its second position.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2 in which the three guide meansare in the form of channels, and including funnelshaped extensions atthe upper ends of said first and secondnamed guide means and at thelower end of said third-named guide means to facilitate transfer of saidbar between the different guide means.

4. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which the means normallyholding said cage in a raised position includes cables each attached atone end to said cage. Sheaves journaled to said columns over which saidcables run, and vertically movable counterweights attached to the otherends of said cables, the weight of said bar being suflicient tooverbalance said counterweights when added to the weight of said cage.

5. A combination as defined in claim 1 comprising in addition tracks onthe top and bottom of said cage, stop means extending from said tracks,said trolley having wheels riding on said tracks, and means connected tosaid trolley normally holding it in engagement with said last-named stopmeans.

6. A combination as defined in claim 5 in which the means normallyholding said trolley in engagement with said lastnamed stop meansincludes cables each attached at one end to said trolley, sheavesjournaled to said cage over which said cables run, and verticallymovable counterweights attached to the other ends of said cables.

7. A combination as defined in claim 5 comprising in addition jackscrewsoperatively connected to said trolley for moving it away from saidstops.

8. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which vertical movement ofsaid cage enables the height at which the ladle is positioned on the carto be varied.

9. In an installation for handling ladles of hot metal, whichinstallation includes a plurality of columns, an overhead cranesupported at the upper portion of said columns for horizontal movement,a spreader bar suspended for vertical movement from said crane,ladle-engaging hooks carried by said bar, and a ladle car supportedwithin said columns below said crane for horizontal movement, thecombination therewith of a ladlepositioning mechanism comprising a cagesupported for vertical movement within the space defined by saidcolumns, means connected to said cage normally holding it in a raisedposition relative to said columns, a trolley supported on said cage forhorizontal movement relative thereto, guide means on said trolley forreceiving said bar from said crane and guiding a ladle engaged by saidhooks into a position supported on said car, and stop means limitingupward movement of said cage relative to said columns and downwardmovement of said bar relative to said guide means.

10. A combination as defined in claim 9 in which the means normallyholding said cage in a raised position includes cables each attached atone end to said cage, sheaves journaled to said columns over which saidcables run, and vertically movable counterweights attached to the otherends of said cables, the weight of said bar being sufficient tooverbalance said counterweights when added to the weight of said cage.

11. A combination as defined in claim 9 comprising in addition tracks onthe top and bottom of said cage, stop means extending from said tracks,said trolley having wheels riding on said tracks, and means connected tosaid trolley and normally holding it in engagement with said last-namedstop means.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECNON Patent No. 3,27,292 Dated December 14 1971 Invent0r( Francis Gallucci et a] It iscertifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that saidLetters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 39, before "partly insert a line 41, before "side" inserta Column 2, line 41, before "vertical" insert columns to facilitateSigned and sealed this 31st day of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR.

ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents F ORMPO-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 a u.s, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:1969 o-sss-ssa.

1. In continuous-casting installation, the layout of which includesintersecting hoist and casting aisles, a portion of said hoist aisleconstituting a hoist bay, a portion of said casting aisle constituting acasting bay, said installation including columns defining said aisles,an overhead crane supported at the upper portion of said columns forhorizontal movement along said hoist aisle between a first position oversaid hoist bay and second position over the intersection of said aisles,a spreader bar suspended for vertical movement from said crane,ladleengaging hooks carried by said bar, and a ladle car supportedwithin said columns below said crane for horizontal movement along saidcasting aisle between a first position within the intersection and asecond position within the casting bay, the combination therewith of aladle-positioning mechanism comprising a cage supported for verticalmovement in the intersection, means connected to said cage normallyholding it in a raised position relative to said columns, a trolleysupported on said cage for horizontal movement relative thereto, guidemeans on said trolley for receiving said bar when said crane is in itssecond position and guiding a ladle engaged by said hooks into aposition supported on said car when the car is in its first position,and stop means limiting upward movement of said cage relative to saidcolumns and downward movement of said bar relative to said guide means.2. A combination as defined in claim 1 comprising in addition guidemeans carried by said columns in said hoist bay adapted to receive saidbar when said crane is in its first position, and guide means carried bysaid crane to be aligned with the guide means carried by said columnswhen said crane is in its first position, and with the guide meanscarried by said trolley when said crane is in its second position.
 3. Acombination as defined in claim 2 in which the three guide means are inthe form of channels, and including funnel-shaped extensions at theupper ends of said first and second-named guide means and at the lowerend of said third-named guide means to facilitate transfer of said barbetween the different guide means.
 4. A combination as defined in claim1 in which the means normally holding said cage in a raised positionincludes cables each attached at one end to said cage. Sheaves journaledto said columns over which said cables run, and vertically movablecounterweights attached to the other ends of said cables, the weight ofsaid bar being sufficient to overbalance said counterweights when addedto the weight of said cage.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 1comprising in addition tracks on the top and bottom of said cage, stopmeans extending from said tracks, said trolley having wheels riding onsaid tracks, and means connected to said trolley normally holding it inengagement with said last-named stop means.
 6. A combination as definedin claim 5 in which the means normally holding said trolley inengagement with said last-named stop means includes cables each attachedat one end to said trolley, sheaves journaled to said cage over whichsaid cables run, and vertically movable counterweights attached to theother ends of said cables.
 7. A combination as defined in claim 5comprising in addition jackscrews operatively connected to said trolleyfor moving it away from said stops.
 8. A combination as defined in claim1 in which vertical movement of said cage enables the height at whichthe ladle is positioned on the car to be varied.
 9. In an installationfor handling ladles of hot metal, which installation includes aplurality of columns, an overhead crane supported at the upper portionof said columns for horizontal movement, a spreader bar suspended forvertical movement from said crane, ladle-engaging hooks carried by saidbar, and a ladle car supported within said columns below said crane forhorizontal movement, the combination therewith of a ladle-positioningmechanism comprising a cage supported for vertical movement within thespace dEfined by said columns, means connected to said cage normallyholding it in a raised position relative to said columns, a trolleysupported on said cage for horizontal movement relative thereto, guidemeans on said trolley for receiving said bar from said crane and guidinga ladle engaged by said hooks into a position supported on said car, andstop means limiting upward movement of said cage relative to saidcolumns and downward movement of said bar relative to said guide means.10. A combination as defined in claim 9 in which the means normallyholding said cage in a raised position includes cables each attached atone end to said cage, sheaves journaled to said columns over which saidcables run, and vertically movable counterweights attached to the otherends of said cables, the weight of said bar being sufficient tooverbalance said counterweights when added to the weight of said cage.11. A combination as defined in claim 9 comprising in addition tracks onthe top and bottom of said cage, stop means extending from said tracks,said trolley having wheels riding on said tracks, and means connected tosaid trolley and normally holding it in engagement with said last-namedstop means.